As Janus bent down to take off his shoes, sweat drops
raced to the tip of his nose. "One shouldn't gossip about next door neighbors."
May, the cruelest month. Afternoons were even hotter than noons. "And
where did you get this crucial piece of information?" He put his shoes
under the couch and rolled his socks off. He brought them near his face and
sniffed.

Marie had gone to the kitchen. "At the
sari-sari," she shouted. "I had to buy detergent. You know Mrs. Apat.
She knows everything."

"At a sari-sari? I thought they didn't exist
anymore."

"At the sari-sari." Marie returned
and handed Janus a Coke and a bowl of peanuts. She dipped into her pocket and
took out a few hundred peso bills. "By the way, thanks." She handed
him the money.

"You're giving me money." He took a sip. "Impossible."

"No, I'm not giving you money."

"This is what," he counted, "a little
over eight hundred. It's not money?" The bills smelt of calamansi.

"It's not mine."

"It's mine?"

"I got it from your pants, while I was hanging
them to dry." Marie dipped into the peanut bowl. "How many times do I
have to tell you to empty your pockets? What if they were coins? You could've
broken the machine." She sat beside him, hugging a throw pillow.

"This is not mine."

Marie shrugged. "Give them to me, then."

Janus held on to the bills. "How could I leave
eight hundred pesos in my pants?"

"You didn't leave eight hundred pesos in your
pants."

"I didn't."

"You left a thousand pesos. After hanging the
clothes I went back to Mrs. Apat. That's when she told me about Mrs.
Kero."

Janus raised his eyebrows. "And how does she
live, having a homosexual husband?"

"Not Bernadette. Not the wife." Marie
was nibbling his earlobe. "The mother. Culasa Kero. She's an
aswang."

Janus giggled. Marie was kissing his shoulder blades. "Aswang?"

"Yes."

"She--what?--eats people?"

"People's intestines."

"Marie?"

"Yes?"

"You were naked when I came home."

"How observant."

"Were you naked all day?"

"The first time I went to the sari-sari,
no."

Janus sighed, put down his Coke and grabbed her
buttocks. Who would've thought marrying one's cousin would be so weird? An
aswang? Next thing he knew she'd be telling him about aliens.

2. "This is the third time in three weeks. I know
you own the machine, but I don't think you want it broken."

Marie was in a nun's suit. Janus couldn't help but
stare. He had asked about it several times, but except for the fact that she
stole it from a mental institution Marie wouldn't give him any more details. It
was quite frustrating.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes." He scratched his left foot. "No."
She was holding a one thousand peso bill in her right hand, and a five hundred
in her left. "June is coming. Have you thought about going back to
school?" They were supposed to graduate together, four years ago, but the
massacre had traumatized her. Now he was working and she was doing the laundry.
They were the last of their clan.

"You left money in the washing machine
again!"

He put his socks back on. Then his shoes.

"What are you doing?"

"Call the University tomorrow morning." He
put his shirt back on. "Ask them about re-admission."

"Where are you going?"

"And from now on, you only have to wash your
clothes." He slammed the door on his way out. It was his uncle's blood,
that bossiness. His aunt had been a saint. "Grew up in Manila," he
whispered, "thought he was big time." He opened the gate and stepped
out into the street. It was dark, and the neighbor's children were playing hide
and seek. Weren't they afraid of the aswang? He felt his pockets. He had loose
change. He went to Mrs. Apat's sari-sari.

It was two corners away. Now the only sari-sari in the
baranggay. Mrs. Apat, the last of her kind. Like him and Marie. Endangered
species, he should be pushing for cooperation. Janus sighed. At the store he
found several fat men drinking. He nodded in their direction.

"Hello Janus! Long time no see!"

He gave the old woman his best smile, teeth in, chin
up, and said, "Oh, you know work."

"I saw you on tv--what was it?--last January? Terrible,
just terrible."

"He's in jail now, Mrs. Apat. His children are
safe."

"Yes! Yes! But their poor mother..."

Janus didn't know what to say, so he said, "A
pack of cigarettes, please."

"Oh, those will kill you! I'll get you some
biscuits."

Before he could respond she was handing him a full
plastic bag. "Well... Thank you. How much, Mrs. Apat?"

Janus nodded, said good night and goodbye. His mother
and Mrs. Apat. Now that was something Marie didn't seem to have picked
up yet. The sky was moonless and starless. He hurried home. He found the gate
open but the door to their apartment closed. He knocked three times, silently. "Marie?
Marie?"

"Hold on!"

He had to wait a full minute before she came. She was
still in the nun's suit. "Is there something wrong?" He took the
biscuits from the plastic bag and handed them to her.

She had her hands behind her back. "I was
naked."

"Yes?"

"I thought you were Mr. Kero. He is always asking
for vinegar."

"I see." He sighed. "Look, I want to
apologize. About leaving money in my pockets. About--"

"Are you playing a game with me?"

"What?"

She showed him her hands. She was holding a few
thousand peso bills.

"What?"

"I found them in my pants."

"You have pants?"

"One pair. I wore it a few months ago and washed
it with your clothes earlier today. You left so I had nothing to do. I was
going to do some ironing and when I found these." She dumped the
bills on the sofa. "Are you playing a game with me?"

He went to the couch and counted the money. "What?"

"Are you playing a game with me?"

"Where would I get fifteen thousand pesos?"

"Seventeen thousand."

"Sixteen, and I'm not playing a game with
you."

"Then," she took his hands in hers,
"who is?"

3. "Well, why did you cancel my call?"

"I was at a gas station! What, you want me
engulfed in an inferno?"

Marie finally opened the door. Janus had arrived an
hour before. His feet hurt. "Thank you very much for letting me inside my
house."

"Oh shut up," she said, but her heart wasn't
in the fight. She helped him take his shoes off. "Mrs. Kero is dead."

"I know. The mother, not Bernadette."

Sweat drops clung to her chin. "Did you even go
to work? How did you find out?"

"Mrs. Apat told me. I dropped by the sari-sari on
my way home."

She took his socks off. "You dropped by the
sari-sari?"

"I wanted to buy a pack of cigarettes."

She was wearing a bra and nothing else. "You
don't smoke."

"Yes." Janus opened his backpack and took
out the plastic bag. "Biscuits?"

"Aren't you even bothered by Mrs. Kero's
case?" She was taking off his pants.

"What case? She was old. People die." The
biscuits were stale. "It's part of my work. When I see babies I see soft
skulls."

"Is death all you ever see?"

Janus took off his briefs and wiped Marie’s chin. "Sometimes
I see pain."

"May I?"

"Stale." I lay down the couch. "You
want to order--anything? Nothing expensive, though. It's still a few days
before pay day."

"No. It isn't." She put her hand into her
bra. She tossed a few thousand peso bills onto his lap. "I figured it
out."

Janus sat up. The bills spilled onto the floor. "Figured
what out?"

"Where the money is coming from."

"Where is the money coming from?"

"From the washing machine."

"From the washing machine?"

"Yes. Whenever I wash it produces money. Not just
in pockets. I washed your underwear today, and those," she gestured to the
bills on the floor, "appeared when I hit the drain button. I was tossing a
shirt in just as you arrived. If we look now I bet there'll be a few thousand
with it."

"You think Mrs. Kero was killed, yes?"

"Yes."

Janus put his pants back on. "When do you want to
go to the wake?"

"She's not dead. She's an aswang, and they didn't
follow the proper murder rituals. Why do you think it's a closed-casket?"

"How do you know it's a closed-casket?"

"How do you know it isn't?"

"Bet?"

"Don't challenge me." She took her bra off. More
thousand peso bills. "I do the laundry."

"Poor, poor Culasa Kero. Once a human being, now
a joke." Janus picked up the bills. "Forget the money. Let's bet with
things that have value." He handed the money to Marie.

She took the money and lifted an eyebrow. "What
do you have in mind?"

"If it isn't a closed-casket, you'll go back to
school."

"And if it is a closed-casket?"

"We go back to Aklan." He caressed her nose.
"We won't be able to take the Villa back, but it'll still be home."

Tears sprung from her eyes. "I'll go get dressed.
Take off your pants and put your briefs on." She raced up the stairs to
the bedroom.

Janus put his pants back on. "Where is the wake
being held anyway?"

"At St. Paul's!"

"What?" Janus put his socks and shoes back
on. "How inconsiderate! Some funeral. If it were at St. Peter's we could
walk to it." He watched Marie run down back to the living room.

She was wearing a black t-shirt and maong pants. "How
do I look?"

"You're in clothes."

"You think I should wear shoes?"

"Slippers are fine."

She dropped to her knees and looked under the sofa. "You
know we have money, we could go get a taxi anytime we want."

"And you can go back to school."

"Shut up."

"Just use my slippers, you know we’re late."

"Maybe we can do the laundry every day, and then
just buy a car. Two cars even."

"Why not?"

Back on her feet she was a marvelous sight. Curls
bobbing and arms seemingly twisted. "I'll just go get the money from the
wishing machine."

Janus chuckled. "Let me get it, you've been
working all day. He didn't wait for her to respond. He was gone for a full five
minutes. When he returned, there was a frown on his face. And two keys in his
hands.

"What is that?"

"Your wish. The cars." He tossed her a key. "Your
wish came true."

Going out they were so excited they forgot to lock the
door. Right outside the gate a Volkswagen and a BMW were waiting.

Marie shook her head. “I’ve known you all my life. Knowing
what car you’d want is--an obligation.”

Janus became very quiet.

"I've been
thinking a lot about money, see. Not for the University. For the Villa,"
Marie said on their way to St. Paul.

Janus did not respond.

Mrs. Kero's casket was closed.

There were many people at the wake. Salvador Kero
wasn't there. But Mrs. Apat was. When it was time to go home they gave her a
ride on the Volkswagen. "This is a good car," she said, "a
policeman's car." They dropped her off at the sari-sari, where three
drunkards were talking about dreams.

4. At the gate of the apartment complex they found the
BMW stolen. At their door they found a drunken Salvador Kero. "I
was," he said, "wondering if I could borrow your grill."

"Sure," Marie said, "sure." Janus
went inside the house. Marie helped Salvador carry the grill up to the gate. When
she got back to their house she found Janus naked on the couch. She left the
door open.

"Everybody was talking! And besides, when have we
ever respected the sacred?"

"Maybe we should start."

Marie started giggling.

"Stop that."

Marie hid her head under their throw pillows. Her
laughter became louder.

"Stop that!"

"I can't believe you're jealous!"

"Oh, you're so full of yourself!" And
suddenly Janus was beside her, taking the throw pillows, kissing her,
undressing her.

"Two years married, you still doubt me?" She
caressed the tip of his nose.

"You were so curious about his homosexuality. I
knew you had a crush on him."

"But I love only you."

"I know. I know." He closed his eyes. "Close
your eyes."

She closed her eyes and kissed him. "It was only
infatuation, you know. And that was a week ago. Now I just pity him. He was
such a nice man, polite. He's a teacher, you know? Now his mother's dead and
he's drinking because he loves her so much."

"You got drunk a lot, too, after--"

"Yes. Yes." She sniffed. "But you, you,
you quit drinking."

"You were drinking enough for the both of
us." He locked her in an embrace.

"It didn't help me. It won't help Salvador. The
only thing that's going to rid him of the pain is his mother, back from the
dead."

"Is that what you want, for Auntie to come
back?"

"And Father too, and Uncle, and Auntie? No."
She opened her eyes, found Janus staring at her. "But all day, I've been
wishing for Mrs. Kero tocome back."

They both heard the growl, like a dog poised to
attack, and had only a moment to break free of each other's arms. The beast
landed in the space between them, teeth and claws digging into the couch. Marie
recognized who it was. The short, white hair. The smooth, white skin.

It was Culasa Kero.

The washing machine made wishes come true.

Foam flowing from her mouth, Mrs. Kero pounced on
Janus. Her fangs locked onto his left thigh. "Marie!" he shouted.

Marie watched as blood poured onto the floor. She
would be the one to mop that up.

"Marie! Marie! You have to destroy the washing
machine!"

What was the aswang doing, biting at a thigh? Was
there something wrong with his intestines?

"Marie!"

"What?"

"It made the wish come true! Destroy it!"

"But the money! And the car!" Marie picked
up a throw pillow and started hitting Mrs. Kero on the head. "The
Villa!"

"My thigh! My intestines!"

Marie rushed to the washing machine. She found it just
as she left it this afternoon. A solid beige. Fat like her mother and aunt. How
would she destroy it? "I wish for an axe!" She removed the machine's
cover and found nothing. "What?"

She had to wash, then wish.

She took her shirt off, put it in the washing machine,
got some detergent and a pail of water. She set the machine on gentle. Timer,
thirty seconds.

Would an axe be enough? Why didn't she just wish
Mrs. Kero back to the dead? How about "I wish Mrs. Kero didn't come
from the dead!" Didn't come
back--

She closed her eyes. "I wish the Mabutis didn't
massacre our family! I wish we had the Villa back!"

When she opened her eyes again she found herself at
the living room, sitting on the couch. Janus was standing near the door. Beside
Marie was a woman. Her name was--Berlin. She was--Janus's wife. Marie
was--visiting from Aklan. She was going to stay with Janus and Berlin for a
week. Her parents were back in Aklan. At the Villa. With Janus's parents. And--Marie's
husband. And--her son. She was only here for a week.